Information for Trustees and Registered Administrators

Trustees

Under the Pensions Act, trustees have the main responsibility for the administration of funded occupational pension schemes and compliance with the requirements that apply to these schemes. Under the Act, the Pensions Authority has responsibility to:

provide guidance for trustees on their duties and responsibilities in relation to scheme administration

issue codes of practice on specific aspects of trustees' duties.

The Authority has developed codes of governance for DC schemes which set out the standards trustees will be expected to adopt to demonstrate their commitment to serving the best interests of members and beneficiaries.

The Trustee Handbook provides guidance for trustees on how to achieve compliance with the Pensions Act and other relevant legislation. The handbook also promotes good practice generally in relation to scheme administration. The handbook is an important tool to assist trustees in the effective discharge of their duties and responsibilities. The handbook is written as far as possible in non-technical language so that it is clearly understandable to all trustees and can be viewed on this page.

Registered Administrators

Registered Administrators

Trustees of every scheme (including large trust RAC schemes) must appoint a registered administrator to provide various services to the scheme known as 'core administration functions'.

The 'core administration functions' are the preparation of annual reports and annual benefit statements for the trustees, the maintenance of sufficient and accurate records of members and their entitlements to discharge the above functions.

Registered administrators must also provide Annual Scheme Information (ASIs) to the Authority which corresponds closely to the information required for the preparation of scheme annual reports and member benefit statements.

Registered administrators must apply to the Authority to renew their registration annually, at least 30 days before their renewal date.

Applications for renewal as a registered administrator must be completed through the Authority's Pensions Data Register (PDR).